Many families today are fed a steady diet of processed foods. Depending on where you live, only a minority of people actually buy their produce and meat locally. For the majority of people, they’re eating food that has traveled hundreds or thousands of miles accompanied by ‘freshening’ preservatives before finally reaching your plate.

So, in our appreciation for homegrown whole foods, we’ve found some foods that look nothing like the finished product. Unless you have experience growing them personally, chances are you will be very surprised. Let us know which one shocked you the most in the comments!

1. Sesame seeds

Cut those little pods open and you’ll find sesame seeds all lined up in little rows!

2. Pistachios

Yup, no plastic packaging here. Pistachios grow on trees and look pretty beautiful before they lose their colors and are harvested!

3. Vanilla

We usually just get the extract, but vanilla looks like green string beans. Once the pods and beans within are harvested and dried, they become the brown color we’re more familiar with.

4. Almonds

Similar to pistachios, almonds also grow in bunches on trees. While they look fuzzy in the picture below, the riper they get the darker and dryer they get before opening up completely.

5. Cinnamon

This cinnamon tree bark is a far cry from the pretty cinnamon stir sticks we use in our spiced (or spiked) apple cider!

6. Saffron

The often expensive and delicate spice starts as a flower! But stigmas (or, or red strands growing outward) are plucked and dried before being added to lend flavor, aroma, or color to a dish.

7. Cashews

They almost look alien-like! Cashews are by far the strangest on this weird foods list.

8. Cacao or cocoa beansThis is one you probably didn’t expect. Before these beans are dried and processed, this is what fresh cacao beans look like!

9. Artichokes

These bulbous plants grow out of the ground but you rarely see them in their natural environment.

10. Quinoa

From white quinoa to red quinoa, this seed goes through a lot to be a fluffy cloud of goodness on your plate.

11. Dates

Did you know dates grew in massive clusters this way?

12. Capers

The reddish greens pods from this plant are harvested and picked for your enjoyment. Bagel and lox topped with red onion and capers, anyone?